> Story of muni

Muni's smile is in stark contrast to the struggle for survival that has been his LIFE till now. A little while ago, Muni was a bonded labourer grazing cattle in an arid region in rural India.

The burden of poverty, made worse by his mother's lingering sickness forced Muni's father, Jyothi Velu, a landless labourer, to 'mortgage' him for a sum of Rs.2,000/- to meet his mother's funeral expenses when she passed away.

A day in Muni's life typically involved carrying heavy loads, tending cattle and cleaning out sheds, burning his feet in the hot sun when he should have been in school, getting an education -- being a child.